Thread: Is this nuvi 2589 simply Bricked or is it a Hardware Failure?

So no commands were executed or even initiated, not even the simple ones, i.e. the read cmd to dump non-vol nor the delete one for gupdate.gcd removal either probably.

It is definitely flash damage. That's now unmistakably 100% confirmed by the results. The use of the modded RGN negates involvement of the device firmware in the initiation of the flash. So Updater has just assumed the requested flashing has happened and falsely reports success. All the other previous indications were circumstantial evidence of such damage but also could have been due to severe region data corruption. Sorry.

Garmin does have an exchange service (they don't repair individual devices) but my experience is that the cost of that is more than buying a similar working used device on the open market. It's possible to replace the flash chip but specialized equipment and skills are needed for that. You probably should just strip it for parts and sell them on eBay. The screen and battery in particular have some second-hand value, even other bits like the USB socket and the case parts maybe. If you sell the whole unit make sure to divulge in the listing that it has physical damage to the flash and only it's useful to strip for parts otherwise someone might buy it thinking it's just soft-bricked and it'll bob up here or another similar forum again - trust me, that's happened more than once and wasted a lot more time.